JOSEPHINE BAKER: The Lady and the Spy
To conclude our three part feature on 50 SHADES OF BLACK
about the many (beautiful) faces of Josephine Baker, we again highlight
her contributions outside of the stage/screen alone and focus on the
ways she defied convention and redefined what it meant to be a "lady".Baker was born in St. Louis but after becoming an instant sensation in France (1925), Baker's legacy could no longer be simply claimed by the United States. Baker died in Paris in 1975 and was buried in Monaco. At her funeral Josephine Baker became the first American woman to receive French military honors. Why? Because among all of her many accomplishments, Josephine was a decorated undercover spy who aided French Resistance during World War II.
In another off the beat article about her life, titled Josephine Baker–Dancer, Singer, Spy by Piper Bayard, the details of Josephine Baker's multi-faceted life including details about her espionage are explored.
As World War Two approached, France contacted Josephine and asked if she would report on any interesting information that she picked up while attending parties (sometimes at European embassies). Josephine agreed, and she quickly developed a skill for charming many fascist big wigs, who were desperate to cultivate an appearance of culture by being seen with her. When Germany invaded France, Josephine received brief emergency instruction in spy craft and was taught to use invisible ink and make safe information passes.READ COMPLETE ARTICLE HERE
During the Nazi occupation, Josephine was a prized commodity for parties and events held by Nazi and Italian fascist big shots. She was allowed to travel in and out of Vichy, France, Nazi occupied France, and neutral countries such as Portugal and Switzerland.
Josephine set up a theater and stage company in Marseilles, France and used it as a cover for a large espionage and sabotage organization. Refugees from Belgium and occupied France were taught to pose as stage artists, and the stage artists were taught to perform as spies. Her seemingly harmless musicians and actor types formed a valuable branch of the French Resistance.
In 1941, Josephine and some of her recruits traveled to North Africa because she was stricken with a bad case of pneumonia and was seeking a dryer, warmer climate. Free French leader General Charles De Gaulle and his staff felt that Josephine had done more than her share and encouraged her to remain safely in French Colonial Africa to recover her health. Josephine was highly committed to the cause of freedom, and instead of remaining safe she traveled to Morocco and set up an expanded operation.
More than simply beauty, more than simply light skin, more than simply a black woman from St. Louis, more than simply the mother of 12 adopted children, more than a bisexual women who married 4 men, more than a civil rights activist, more than a French spy, and more than the face that we so happily featured on the cover design for this 50 SHADES OF BLACK Project, she was Freda Josephine McDonald Baker and we celebrate all that she was and continues to be.
-Carlton Mackey
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Sunday, March 23, 2014
Josephine Baker Aided the French and Received Medal of Honor
Continuing with the theme of Women's History Month, what better person to discuss than Josephine Baker? She was an international icon who rose from poverty in St. Louis, Missouri to the lavish lifestyle of Paris, France. Baker had a slew of nicknames: "Creole Goddess," "Black Venus" and "Black Pearl." She was renown for her beauty and her innovative and flamboyant dances. According to Biography.com, Baker had a pet cheetah and adopted 12 children from various ethnicities called the "Rainbow Tribe." But do we know the story behind Baker providing intelligence to the Allies during World War II? Josephine Baker received a Medal of Honor for aiding the French Resistance during WWII.
Josephine's rags to riches story was very similar to many Negro entertainers in the early 1900s. She was born Freda Josephine McDonald in 1906. Baker worked at an early age as a domestic and waitress to help her impoverished family. She married at age thirteen but did not remain in the union for long. (Baker later wed several more times) Young Baker then started dancing professionally. Considered too dark and skinny in America, the New York Times once referred to her as "The Negro Wench." (Source: The Official Josephine Baker Site)
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| Josephine Baker during WWII Source: Biography.com |
She became the highest grossing entertainer in Europe according to Biography.com. Baker infatuated legions of fans with her famous "Banana Dance," "Shadow Dance" and the "Original Charleston." A long line of modern day performers have cited Baker as a major influence. Baker incorporated comedy, visual appeal and high energy in her scene stealing performances.
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| Josephine Baker Source: mentalfloss.com |
Furthermore, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, Langston Hughes, and F. Scott Fitzgerald greatly admired the "Black Venus."** She embodied the Jazz Age and the accompanying Art Deco movement. Baker attempted to make a return to America in the late 30s with the show Ziegfeld Follies but faced audience rejection. She renounced her American citizenship and became a French citizen in 1937. By this time Baker was among the top photographed female stars. France embraced her. (huffingtonpost)
From the Official Josephine Baker site:
Admirers bestowed a plethora of gifts, including diamonds and cars, and she received approximately 1,500 marriage proposals.
Which is why Josephine Baker was the perfect candidate to smuggle information for the French Resistance during World War II.
The Vichy Government and The French Resistance
Via historylearning.com.uk
The surrender of France in June 1940, was a major blow to many French people in terms of their pride. Many believed that the government had let the people down. The creation of a Nazi-approved Vichy government, primarily in the centre and south of the country, was, in the minds of many, further proof that politicians had let down France. The resistance movement developed to provide the Allies with intelligence, attack the Germans when possible and to assist the escape of Allied airmen.
Additionally:
In the immediate aftermath of the June 1940 surrender, France went into a period of shock. The public had been assured that the French army, along with the Maginot Line, was more than strong enough to resist a German attack. The speed and severity of Blitzkrieg had shocked the French people. The non-occupied region of France, known as Vichy France, was set up by the Germans and governed by Marshall Pétain.
Meanwhile, French President Charles de Gaulle on June 18th, 1940 told the French people from London to keep fighting the Germans. The Vichy government, collaborated with the Germans and internal conflict began.
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| . Baker had a castle in Southern France. She provided housing for Resistance members. Source: jewishvirtualibrary.org |
Josephine Baker, Free France Spy
Prior to the surrender of France to the Germans in 1940, Baker was made an "honorary correspondent" by a French official. Baker gathered information on German troops from various embassy and ministry personnel at parties. Baker passed the intel on to the French government. Her femme fatale persona allowed her access to confidential military information.(biography.com)
Baker housed French Resistance friends at her Southern France castle and procured travel visas. She traveled throughout neutral Europe and South America collecting information about German troop movement, airfields and harbors. As a spy, once again she obtained some of the information by her "beguiling smile" and sensuous charm. The intelligence would then be written on invisible ink on Josephine's sheet music. On some occasions the info would be pinned on her underwear. An entertainer of Baker's cache would not be subject to a strip search. (biography.com)
Baker's other WWII activities included a stint as a sub-lieutenant for the Women's Auxiliary Air Force. She also provided performances for French troops free of charge, boosting their morale. For her brave and commendable efforts Baker was the first American-born woman to be awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Rosette de la Résistance and to be made a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor. (womenwhochangedamerica.org)
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| Image via: queensofvintage.com Josephine Baker with her pet cheetah |
American Civil Rights Proponent
Josephine Baker figured prominently in the American Civil Rights Movement. She was invited to speak during the 1963 March On Washington* and was one of the few women that spoke before thousands of protesters. After the assignation of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. his wife Coretta selected Baker to be the face of the movement but she declined.
Baker refused to perform in front of segregated audiences and challenged the social mores of the day, winning accolades from the NAACP. Her actions resulted in death threats from the Klu Klux Klan but she remained steadfast with her convictions.
One of the most famous entertainers of the twentieth century pushed the envelope with her stage persona and private life. Her songs are timeless standards covered by many. The "Black Pearl" reaped the benefits of her amazing popularity and enjoyed a posh lifestyle.
Josephine Baker's status allowed her to be the perfect spy for the French Resistance in WWII. Additionally, she was a pivotal player during the American Civil Rights Movement. Baker lived life on her terms and did not let rejection in the United States limit her. Josephine Baker died in 1975 of a cerebral hemorrhage. Baker was buried with military honors and over 20,000 people attended her funeral. (biography.com)
What entertainer today does Baker remind you of? Can you think of anyone else that was involved in military and social causes?
Don't forget to share this post!
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| Josephine Baker was the only woman who spoke at the March on Washington in 1963. She is pictured with Lena Horne, another activist entertainer. image via: pinterest.com |
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1. Josephine Baker Aided the French and Received...
http://montfordpointmarinesandhonor.blogspot.com/2014/03/jos...
Mar 23, 2014 ... Josephine Baker received a Medal of Honor for aiding
the French Resistance during WWII. .... For her brave and commendable efforts
Baker was the first .... But did you know that she was a spy for the France
during WWII?
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1. 5 Things You Didn't Know About Josephine Baker |...
http://mentalfloss.com/article/23148/5-things-you-didnt-know...
Feb 14, 2016 ... Singer and dancer Josephine Baker was probably the
closest thing the Jazz ... When World War II rocked her adopted France, Baker
didn't simply move to a more peaceful country. ... In fact, her fame made her
the perfect spy.
Josephone Baker famous song J'ai deux amours
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nck8ZR3Efy8
Updated
May 04, 2016.
Josephine Baker Facts
Dates: June 3, 1906 - April 12, 1975Occupation: entertainer, dancer
Also known as: Freda Josephine McDonald
Josephine Baker Biography
Born Freda Josephine McDonald in St. Louis, Missouri, she later took the name Baker from her second husband, Willie Baker, whom she married at age 15.Surviving the 1917 riots in East St. Louis, Illinois, where the family was living, Josephine Baker ran away a few years later at age thirteen and began dancing in vaudeville and on Broadway. In 1925, Josephine Baker went to Paris where, after the jazz revue La Revue Nègre failed, her comic ability and jazz dancing drew attention of the director of the Folies Bergère.
Virtually an instant hit, Josephine Baker became one of the best-known entertainers in both France and much of Europe. Her exotic, sensual act reinforced the creative images coming out of the Harlem Renaissance in America.
During World War II Josephine Baker worked with the Red Cross, gathered intelligence for the French Resistance and entertained troops in Africa and the Middle East.
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Josephine Baker in Montmartre
July 7, 2015 Josephine Baker adored Paris. “J’ai Deux Amours,” her signature song, said it all: “Two loves have I: My country and Paris.” Unlike with her many other loves, however, her feelings for the City of Lights were requited in full measure. The people of Paris loved Josephine Baker, too, passionately, exuberantly, and faithfully, even after her death.Arguably the most famous woman in the world and certainly the highest-paid performer, Josephine debuted in Paris at age 19 in “Le Revue Negre” in the Theatre Champs-Elysees. From then until she died, in 1975, La Josephine lived throughout the city in luxury and splendor: in an apartment of marble and gold on the Champs-Elysees, in fancy hotels, in a mansion in the wealthy suburb of Le Vesinet, and more. Closest to her heart, perhaps, was in the eclectic artists’ and musicians’ enclave of Montmartre, home to Pablo Picasso, Pierre-August Renoir, La Folies Bergere, Bricktop’s jazz club, and — yes — Josephine Baker.
My trip to France in search of Josephine begins in Montmartre, where tourists and locals rub elbows at the boulangerie, musicians play accordions and guitars on the streets, accompanied by the clink of espresso cups on saucers and forks and knives on plats de jour, and revelry continues even on the hottest nights until the wee, witching hours; where the city’s highest hill poses a challenge that even, thanks to the Funiculaire, the faintest of heart can meet, and where the cathedrals have bouncers, asking, “Can you read?” of the tourists discussing their day’s itinerary before turning around the sign admonishing SILENCE.
I fell in love almost at first sight with Montmartre. I imagine that Josephine did, as well. See these sights, the first of many I’ll show you from the magical 18th arrondissement, and you’re bound to understand the infatuation:
Montmartre’s
streets pulse with life and celebration until the wee hours, thanks to
an influx of tourists visiting the Sacre-Coeur Cathedral plus the
vivantes who populate the neighborhoods throughout the large area.
Do
the people who named this shop know that “Princesse Tam Tam” is the
name of one of Josephine Baker’s three movies? I hear there’s a swimming
pool named after her in Paris, too
(http://content.time.com/time/travel/cityguide/article/0,31489,1937013_1936990_1936854,00.html)–although
as far as I know, she wasn’t a swimmer, as well as a sign in the
Montparnasse neighborhood designating an area as “Place Josephine
Baker,” making her the first African-American to earn this distinction.
After death as in life, Madame Bakair, all but forgotten in the United
States, continues to entrance the French.
At
the very top of the Montmartre Butte–the pinnacle of the city of
Paris–stands the beautiful, imposing Sacre-Coeur Basilica, dedicated to
the heart of Jesus, made of basalt excavated from thr city’s own mines
and, presumably like heart of the risen Christ, growing whiter with each
passing day. The cathedral, completed in 1914, was a favorite of
Josephine’s, who adopted Catholicism as well as Judaism in addition to
the Pentecostal religion that brought her so much mirth–getting her
kicked out of church for laughing–as a child in St. Louis. To reach its
lofty heights, I eschewed the “Funicular” tram and climbed, instead, all
198 steps, as I imagine Josephine doing. She didn’t come by those
sculpted thighs sitting on her derriere.
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Josephine Baker
In
Paris in 1925, Josephine Baker took the performance world by storm by
becoming one of the first famous African American exotic burlesque
dancer in Europe. She was instantly adored by her fans and ended up
maintaining her celebrity status for over 50 years. Born to a lower
class family in the United States, Josephine grew up waitressing and
eventually married and divorced over six times. Her last marriage to
Frenchman Jean Lion in 1937 is where she attained her French
citizenship. She began her dancing career touring in the United States
with The Jones Family Band and The Dixie Steppers in 1919 performing
comical skits. Because of limitations due to her ethnicity, her initial
role was an understudy for the chorus lines. After slight success in New
York she decided to travel to Paris. She found enormous success in
Paris, and her new salary was spent extravagantly on clothes, jewelry
and pets. She owned a cheetah,
chimpanzee, pig, snake, goat, parrot, parakeets, fish, three cats and
seven dogs. By 1927 she was considered “the most photographed woman in
the world” and also earned more than any other performer in Europe
(Louck and Haberman).
In
1936 she returned to the United States to make a special appearance in
the Ziegfeld Follies, however, the audiences were not ready for a
successful black woman performer. A biography titled “Josephine Baker Charming Paris”
explains that “Josephine loved France because it offered many freedoms
to blacks that the US did not. She could go into any hotel, restaurant
or shop, and no one would refuse to serve her because of her color, as
they did back home” (Scholl 19). She eventually returned to the US in
the 1950s and 60s in attempts to fight for African American Civil
Rights. In honor of her efforts, The NAACP named May 20th Josephine
Baker Day. In addition to this advocacy she was a secret correspondent
for France during World War II as well as a sub-lieutenant in the
Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. “As a star, Josephine passed through
airports easily — no one suspected her as a spy. During World War II,
Josephine fought for the French resistance against the Nazis by
smuggling coded messages written on the back of sheet music” (Scholl
19). During this time Josephine and her husband began adopting children
to prove that “children of different ethnicities and religions could
still be brothers.” Towards the end of her career she received more
widespread acceptance from both the United States and Europe.
Unfortunately in 1975, a few days after her last performance tribute to
her 50-year career, she slipped into a coma and died of a cerebral
hemorrhage (Louck and Haberman).
Works Cited:
Scholl, Elizabeth. "Josephine Baker: Charming Paris." New Moon 15 (March 2008): 18-19. Proquest. 2 Dec. 2015.
Louck, Tracie, and Barbara Haberman. "The Official Josephine Baker Website". The Official Josephine Baker Website. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2015.
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